With A Paddle But No Canoe Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

An empathy given is beginning to wane,
For those who initiate conflict in discreet...
And do their best to create opposition.
With a doing as that demon wishes.
That demon within them that sits...
Itching at the depths of their deception.
Determined to scratch that itch!

And a pattern is set that begins to look familiar.

As the misdeeds done that deceivers do...
Eventually emerge from their shadows.
Leaving empathizers,
More angered than disappointed.
And those who portray their innocence too well...
Find they are stuck on a distant shore,
With a paddle but no canoe to row or motorize.